On the sea, a bloody fight between more than ten cruisers was going on.
"Boom boom!"
Shells from the 152mm rapid-fire main gun on the Aosta hit the Takachiho, and a 57mm secondary gun was affected by the explosion. Several crew members on the gun position fell in a pool of blood before they could even scream.
.
"Paramedic!"
A shout rang out nearby, and several ship rescuers appeared in front of them carrying stretchers. Their white ambulance uniforms were stained with various stains, but the bright red blood stains were so conspicuous that it was clear at a glance that they had already rescued someone.
There are fewer people.
One of the ambulance soldiers numbly turned over the eyelids and chest of the fallen soldier quickly with his blood-stained hands, and immediately said to his teammates. "It's hopeless. Come back later."
In fact, there were two people among them who were panting, but one had a big hole in his abdomen, and blood could not stop flowing out. The other was covered in sacks, and had entered the stage of convulsions. When the two saw
It just can't be saved.
"Paramedic!"
At this time, a voice calling for ambulance personnel came from another location, and the ambulance personnel were immediately called over.
Don't blame the rescuers for being cruel. As the battle became more and more intense, the casualties on the ship became more and more serious. The rescuers simply could not come over. They could only give priority to the lightly wounded, followed by the seriously injured. As for the dead officers and soldiers, etc.
Let’s talk after you’re done.
Moreover, the risk of rescue on the ship is also very high, and the artillery shells are not discerning. For example, the Takachiho had a rescue team of twelve people before the war started, but now only six people can still work. The others have either been rescued.
The person you want to talk to, or we can talk about it later.
The situation on the Takachiho is not unique to it, it is basically the same for all warships participating in the war. Naval battles are not just the collision of steel, but fresh lives are also being consumed violently.
Of course, the reason why the battle between the two parties was so cruel was also due to the commanders on both sides. As for the combined fleet, after dividing the fleet into two parts, it was already prepared to contain the death of all members of the formation. Especially after facing the Turin-class
After becoming stronger, Yuhiro Ito no longer had the idea of a complete victory before. A tie would be a victory. By sacrificing himself to contain the formation in exchange for heavy damage to the opponent's cruiser formation, the combined fleet still made some money.
The previous idea of defeating the enemy's cruiser and then looking for trouble for the opponent's battleship formation has long been forgotten.
In the previous fleet bombardment phase, the impact of the opponent's Turin class was so profound that none of our own warships could withstand the opponent's firepower. It seems that the king of naval battles is the battleship, and there is nothing wrong with this statement.
Thinking of this, Yuhiro Ito couldn't help but said, "If we had known that the Italians would intervene, we should have waited for the Fuji and Yashima to return home before starting the war."
What Yuhiro Ito said was that Japan purchased two battleships from the United Kingdom to deal with the two battleships of Tranquility. This was a modified version of the Majestic class that was more suitable for Japan. The standard displacement reached 12,000 tons and was equipped with 4-door 305
mm main gun, 10 152 secondary guns, and
The maximum speed is 18 knots. Although it cannot be compared with the Turin class, it can still compete. However, these two battleships that Yuhiro Ito is obsessed with are still being built in the UK, and it will take at least a year before they can be completed and put into service, so
In this war, the Fuji class cannot keep up.
Of course, since the distant water cannot quench the thirst of the near, Yuhiro Ito can only rely on the two 10,000-ton patrol ships Yoshino and Akitsusu at his feet. Therefore, in order to play the role of the two ships, and in order to cause greater damage to the Italian warships,
Due to the losses, Ito Yuhiro gave up the formation bombardment and instead adopted a melee in an attempt to keep more enemies behind.
"well played!"
A burst of cheers from the ship pulled Vice Admiral Ito out of his thoughts.
"What's going on?"
The still inexplicable Yuhiro Ito immediately heard Captain Kawara Kaname's explanation with joy.
"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, this is the main gun of the enemy ship Venice after it was hit by our ship. The enemy ship was severely damaged."
"Nani!"
Yuhiro Ito quickly raised the telescope in his hand and looked over. He saw billowing smoke coming from the main gun position on the rear deck of the Venice in the distance. This was obviously the result of being damaged.
"The fight was very good. I will reward the officers and men who destroyed the enemy ship's main gun. I also ordered the Akitsusu to focus fire on the Venice immediately. We want to get a breakthrough from this ship."
In fact, without Ito Yuhiro's order, Captain Uemura Hikonoshima of the Akitsusu had already given the order to fire on the Venetian after seeing the situation of the Venetian.
Two 10,000-ton warships poured firepower on the Venetian, making the Venetian even more dangerous.
As the commander of the interception formation, Rear Admiral Levi knew the danger of the Venetian better than others because he was on the ship. The Venetian was really unlucky. The enemy ship's 254mm shell hit the weakest top of the turret and was destroyed.
The 254mm main gun after breaking through the top layer has been scrapped. Fortunately, the ammunition room under the turret is safe, otherwise the Venice would be doomed.
Faced with such a tragic situation, Rear Admiral Levi did not consider saving the Venetian. "Send an order to the Brescia to attack the enemy Yoshino first, and let them let go. The other two ships should give priority to attacking the Venetian."
Then he said to Lieutenant Colonel Gomes, the captain of the Venezia, "Order the battleship to continue attacking the enemy Yoshino. We have no way out."
Gomes, who was affected by the explosion of the main gun just now, nodded. "I will not let go of the bastard who hurt the Venezia."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and roared at the other officers. "Aim all the artillery at the bastard Yoshino, let them taste our anger, and let these Japanese monkeys know how powerful we are. Also, let the fire-fighting team move faster.
, I don’t want to see this thick smoke coming from our battleship.”
Gomez's words inspired the officers and soldiers on the Venezia, who continued to fight back with artillery high-spirited against the enemy.
Major General Levi was very satisfied with Gomes' performance. He was worthy of being an outstanding young officer in the navy. It was indeed great to inspire the fighting spirit of the officers and soldiers.
However, Major General Levi knew in his heart that although he relied on words to keep the Venetian's fighting spirit high, the destroyed main gun actually reduced the firepower output.
Previously, in terms of firepower, the eight 254mm main guns of the Venetian and Brescia were not inferior to the Yoshino and Akitsusu of the other side. But now two are damaged, which is 6 to 8. They are inferior to their opponents in terms of main artillery output. In addition, in terms of speed
There is also a slight gap in the performance. Although the Venetia that has been used for many years has been well maintained by naval officers and soldiers, its top speed has still dropped somewhat. In addition, the maximum speed duration is not as good as before.
Of course, more importantly, the armor of the two Venice-class cruise ships is indeed weaker than that of the other British 10,000-ton cruise ships. After all, the difference of more than two thousand tons, even if the design is reasonable, the firepower and speed are almost the same.
Under the circumstances, the only choice was to sacrifice part of the defense. It was precisely for this reason that the Venetian suffered a heavy loss in this naval battle.
In fact, the Venice Improved Class is not weak. Even after nearly eight years of service, it is still very intimidating. However, in recent years, there have been an endless stream of equipment patrols in various countries, and everyone is coming up with new things, so unknowingly, the Venice Improved Class has already
I feel like I can't keep up with the times.
Regarding the problem that the Venetian Improved class has almost fallen out of the first echelon of armored patrols, there has been a call for building new ships in the Italian Navy, and the two naval ministers are also clear about this. Moreover, the design drawings of the new armored patrols in the Navy Ship Design Department,
It’s also piled high.
However, if they wanted to equip new ships, the two Lords of the Admiralty could only spread their hands and had no money.
Lack of money is the big problem. Even though the Italian Navy’s military expenditure is rising every year, it still spends more. Annual maintenance fees for warships, personnel training fees, maintenance and reconstruction fees for naval bases, research and development fees for new technologies, etc.
Once these costs are removed, there will not be much left for the Navy to spend on building new ships.
But don’t forget, Italy doesn’t just rely on cruise ships, it also has no other warships to build. Especially in recent years, Italy has fought several wars, and the navy also needs to spend some military expenses of its own in the wars.
That's why the navy is so active in getting involved in the Sino-Japanese war in the Far East. Fighting can make money, and for the Italian navy, which has been struggling for several years, there is nothing more tempting than this.
Of course, this is all for later. For the current Major General Levi, winning this naval battle is the most important thing. However, although his side seems to be at a disadvantage, Major General Levi does not regret fighting with the enemy.
of melee.
Because if the enemy breaks through them and attacks the transport fleet at the rear, it will be an insult to the Italian Navy. Moreover, he is not without a trump card, and it is still unknown who will win.
